Lawyer Francis “Frank” McQuade has announced his bid for Nassau County district attorney along with a slate of other Republican candidates challenging incumbent Democratic county and town officials.
McQuade is one of several Republican candidates who has never held political office. Newcomer David Yaudoon Chiang will challenge town Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey for North Hempstead’s District 4 seat and Ragini Srivastava will face District 2’s Peter Zuckerman.
David P. Redmond, who challenged Town of North Hempstead Clerk Wayne Wink in 2017, is running for town supervisor.
Port Washington’s Ronald Rochester is running for receiver of taxes. He staged an unsuccessful bid for Port Washington police commissioner in 2015, and according to his website, is a retired U.S. Department of Treasury special agent and spent over a quarter century in law enforcement.
“They’re excited to be running,” District 6 Councilwoman Dina De Giorgio said of the North Hempstead Republican candidates. “They’re excited to be involved, and I think it’s a really quality ticket.”
Dina De Giorgio, a Republican, is seeking re-election and will face challenger Mariann Dalimonte of Port Washington.
De Giorgio is currently serving her second term for the district that represents Port Washington, Flower Hill, the Plandomes and Munsey Park.
Donald X. Clavin Jr. is challenging Laura Gillen for Hempstead town supervisor. He is currently the town’s receiver of taxes.
Though he is a member of the Republican Party, McQuade told Blank Slate Media that the district attorney’s office should be more independent as it tackles political corruption.
“This office will not be a forum or a luncheonette for a political corruption witch hunt,” McQuade said. “If the elements of the crime are there we will prosecute, but I believe political connections can kill the heart and soul of the district attorney’s office.”
The fact that he has never held a government position is a testament to his independent voice, he said, in contrast to District Attorney Madeline Singas, who McQuade contended was brought up in the Democratic “apparatus.”
McQuade did run for city, county and state seats multiple times beginning in the 1990s. He ran for the Nassau County Legislature twice – first in 1995 and again in 1997 – and most recently ran for the New York State Assembly in 2006.
He has been a committeeman on the Long Beach City Republican Committee since 1994.
But when he’s not running, he doesn’t seek political benefits, McQuade said.
“Unless the will of the people elects me than I have no interest in working on the government dime,” McQuade said.
The Long Beach resident’s other priorities as district attorney would include vigilance in prosecuting gangs and reforming the office’s approach to civil liberties, he said.
With a low crime rate in Nassau County, the office has some room to work on reforming procedures like asset forfeiture, which McQuade said is often used as too punitive a measure.
McQuade owns a law office in Long Beach and Brentwood.
Rochester will run against North Hempstead Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman. He earned a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Southern California and studied accounting at Fordham University, according to his LinkedIn page.
He has coached youth football and basketball in Port Washington, where he has lived since 1989, and in 2012 was inducted into the Port Washington Youth Activities Hall of Fame, according to his website.
Redmond, who is seeking Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth’s seat, has a background in electrical engineering and technology. At the time of a 2017 interview with Blank Slate Media, he had been a volunteer firefighter with the Mineola Fire Department for more than a decade.
He was born and raised in Mineola, according to his website and like Rochester graduated from Chaminade High School.
Chiang, who lives in Manhasset, was a major advocate for the Town of North Hempstead’s legislation banning the sale of recreational marijuana, De Giorgio said.
As for herself, De Giorgio said she is looking forward to focusing on revitalizing Sunset Park in Port Washington as well as Main Street.
She spearheaded an effort on the town board to ban the town from working with companies that boycott Israel. The town unanimously passed the legislation in April of 2017.
“I think that the issue of anti-Israel sentiment is sort of coming back again,” De Giorgio said. “I think that’s something that the town was sort of ahead of the curve on that, and I’m proud to be a part of that.”
De Giorgio has lived in Port Washington for more than 20 years and is an attorney at a family law practice there that she owns.
“This will be my fourth contested election, and I’m confident on my record and how hard I’ve worked for the community,” she said. “I’ve been able to help a lot of people along the way and I think that people will remember that when they go to the voting booth.”
Nassau County District 9 Legislator and Presiding Officer Richard Nicollelo is seeking re-election. He has represented the 9th District, which includes parts of Manhasset, Roslyn, the Willistons, Mineola and New Hyde Park, since the county Legislature was formed in 1996.
James M. Greenberg is challenging Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) for her 11th District seat.
